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I attended private school and we still used buses. I had to take 2 buses to school actually. I took one to the public high school and then had to transfer to another bus to my school. Same going home. It took close to an hour and a half. After a while my parents started driving me to and from the second bus so I really only had the bus from my high school to the public high school. For elementary school we sometimes took the bus home. It went directly to and from my elementary school, which was only 15 minutes away so my mom usually drove me.
On the opposite end of the spectrum -- there's a large apartment complex sited, literally, right next door to our school. There are no streets to cross, and there's a sidewalk the whole way.
And, yes, a school bus picks up kids and drives them the 0.25 mile distance .....
Having attended private schools in towns over, we never had the need for public funded busing. Parents who lived near each-other worked out car pool schedules to get us to a from school. I feel like schools struggling for funding would do well ditching school buses.
Perhaps it would make the parent take more of an active role in their child's education.
believe it or not, some parents don't drive, and/or the family only has 1 car. Or, both parents work, and the kids are responsible enough to be home alone before and after school, but need that ride to and from school. Or, the parents are environmentally conscious, and see that one bus taking 30 kids is better than 20 cars taking 30 kids.
There are a lot of possible reasons, that in part depend on whether the school and the students live in urban, rural, or suburban areas. Our high school's feeder area stretches miles outside our community.
Our school district charges $.50 per kid per ride.
So are they leaving their 1st grader at home alone until the bus gets there?
I just don't understand this sentiment that kids would not go to school if they were not bused. Are parents really that lazy? Both of my parents worked, yet we seemed to work out a schedule with the people living around us, to get us all to school. The school gave us lists of people who lived around us and we acted accordingly.
Maybe not a 1st grader, but maybe a 5th or 6th grader. I pay per ride for my kids to take the bus so that I'm not one more car driving a mile down the road, getting honked at by other parents because I'm going the speed limit in the school zone, driving around the block on residential streets, that lately have been narrowed by large plies of snow on both sides. the fewer cars driving to the school, the safer the kids on foot are.
I can't believe the ignorance of some people to think that just because you didn't need a bus, no one else should. I can't imagine the school handing out a list of names and addresses. Some people expect a bit of privacy, and might not want to be responsible for carting someone else's kids to school every day.
believe it or not, some parents don't drive, and/or the family only has 1 car. Or, both parents work, and the kids are responsible enough to be home alone before and after school, but need that ride to and from school. Or, the parents are environmentally conscious, and see that one bus taking 30 kids is better than 20 cars taking 30 kids.
There are a lot of possible reasons, that in part depend on whether the school and the students live in urban, rural, or suburban areas. Our high school's feeder area stretches miles outside our community.
Our school district charges $.50 per kid per ride.
Why is it the taxpayer's problem if a parent doesn't drive, or only has one ca, both work, or are environmentally conscious?? Don't have kids if you can't afford them....
Why is it the taxpayer's problem if a parent doesn't drive, or only has one ca, both work, or are environmentally conscious?? Don't have kids if you can't afford them....
Give me a break. As was already pointed out, all of society benefits from an educated population; The schools also benefit from having the kids there. I'm sure in some extreme cases buses are over used. In most cases it is justified, and it is all part of public education. And, as I pointed out before, I pay for my kids to take the bus.
What do you think would happen to property values in an area without a school and without a bus? It benefits everyone, even those w/o kids.
To: BJW50
RE:I still can't wrap my mind around a lack of busing affecting attendance.
In an area of poverty where parents don't value education, parents don't care if their kids go to school- the kids don't want to walk the 5 or 6 miles, the family can't afford the public transportation, so the kids don't go to school. When they get a notice to appear in court for truancy (where the will receive a fine), they sign the student out of school. The parent is happy, they don't get a fine, the student is happy they don't have to go to school. If there is transportation that the parent doesn't directly pay for, they make more of an effort to make sure the student gets on the bus-the school can deal with the kid, they are out of the house for the day. They will also probably get a free lunch.
To: BJW50
RE:I still can't wrap my mind around a lack of busing affecting attendance.
In an area of poverty where parents don't value education, parents don't care if their kids go to school- the kids don't want to walk the 5 or 6 miles, the family can't afford the public transportation, so the kids don't go to school. When they get a notice to appear in court for truancy (where the will receive a fine), they sign the student out of school. The parent is happy, they don't get a fine, the student is happy they don't have to go to school. If there is transportation that the parent doesn't directly pay for, they make more of an effort to make sure the student gets on the bus-the school can deal with the kid, they are out of the house for the day. They will also probably get a free lunch.
It's easy for some to say "pay for your own transportation" but I strongly believe that whatever the financial situation of the parents, and whatever bad judgement the parents may use, it is not the kids fault, and those kids who already have a lot of things working against them should be given every opportunity to go to school and learn. It is their only hope for a better life than the one they are being raised in.
the whole point of public education is for EVERYONE to have access. sometimes access includes a school bus.
Why is it the taxpayer's problem if a parent doesn't drive, or only has one ca, both work, or are environmentally conscious?? Don't have kids if you can't afford them....
Well, I guess we can always do what my grandfather did during the Depression. Teach AND drive the bus. Guess who paid for the gas?
Grandpa! Yep. Silly, dirt-poor Grandpa scraped pennies so someone else's kids could learn to read and write.
He didn't see it as a burden, BTW. He just thought kids should be able to get an education no matter how poor they were. Or what color. Dang progressive!
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As was already pointed out, all of society benefits from an educated population; The schools also benefit from having the kids there. I'm sure in some extreme cases buses are over used. In most cases it is justified, and it is all part of public education. And, as I pointed out before, I pay for my kids to take the bus.